New Skin, New Mission
by ErekLich
Summary: An unlikely alliance finds Zelgadis cure. But with armies poised to march on Seyrune, will a confused exchimera have time to learn to be human?
1. Guess Who?

**New Skin, New Mission**

A Slayers Fanfiction by ErekLich

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, and am making no money from this work of fanfiction.

A/N: Takes place after Try, minor spoilers. Also, the rating may go up later.

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There are many places in the world, filled with a variety of things both wondrous and terrible. But this story is primarily about only one of those places. That place is Seyrune, the White Magic Kingdom. Seyrune was a fantastic city; the streets themselves were laid out in the pattern of a circle of protection. The kingdom was renowned far and wide as having the absolute best of two things, anywhere: White Magic users, and Ice Cream.

Currently, several people were enjoying the aforementioned refreshment, as it was a rather hot day. But this story is primarily about only one of those people. That person is Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune, princess of the kingdom. She was a beautiful young girl of nineteen, sporting black hair that almost reached her shoulder and determined blue eyes. She was neither exceptionally short nor tall for a girl of her age and heritage, though she was occasionally notably clumsy. At the moment of time this story begins, she was sitting around a table at a cafe, eating a double scoop of vanilla. Across from her sat two of her best friends, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev.

Lina Inverse, Sorcery Genius, Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker, Enemy of All Who Live, ... well, you get the idea. Lina was short, with fiery hair, fiery eyes, and a fiery temper to match. She sported an eclectic assortment of gems and trinkets on her traveling clothes, most of which served some minor magical function. Gourry, sitting beside her, was by far the tallest of the three. His long blonde hair fell well below his waist, and his armor was adorned by no cloak. A pitifully non-impressive sword hung from his scabbard.

Though the conversation had been ongoing for some time, this story begins as Lina swallowed the last bite of her chocolate fudge cone.

"So you still haven't found Mr. Gourry a new sword?" The princess asked.

The swordsman in question opted to reply, as his companion's mouth was still half-full. "Not one nearly as good as the Sword of Light was, anyway. I mean, sure, this can cut stuff, but against Mazoku it's practically worthless."

Lina chose this moment to chime in. "But enough about us, and your boring diplomatic missions! Have you heard from Zel recently?"

At this, the heir to Seyrune's throne let her face fall somewhat. "Not for a month, Miss Lina. He said he'd found a lead, but didn't say anything else about it."

Gourry's face grew a curious look. "Does he usually tell you about that stuff? Zel didn't seem the type to talk much before..."

"Well, sometimes... And usually I get a letter a few days later, complaining about how it was a waste of time! I'm starting to get a little worried, to tell you the truth."

Lina leaned over and gave Amelia a hearty slap on the shoulder. "Ah, don't you worry about him. I think Zel could survive just about anything with that body of his."

The princess smiled again. "I know. I think his body is really cool." Realizing how that sounded, she blushed. "I mean, er..."

"I know what you mean," Lina winked, "but he probably just can't reach a town for some reason. I'm sure he'll contact you as soon as he can."

"I hope so." Staring at the empty place on her wrist where one of her protective bracelets used to be, Amelia missed the expression of shock on Gourry's face. Nor did she have time to react before a pair of unfamiliar hands found themselves over her eyes. Her gasp was cut short by a voice behind her.

"Guess who?"

_That voice,_ Amelia thought, _it can't be! But these hands are... _She slowly grasped and took the very human hands off of her face, and slowly turned around. She was greeted by the sight of a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, with dark lavender hair that stuck out from his head. His eyes, his smile, the shape of his face... All of his features came together into the unmistakable identity of

"Mr. Zelgadis?" It came out more as a question, a hope of hope, than a greeting.

For a long moment, Lina, Gourry, and Amelia stood there, unsure how to react. The Zelgadis-like figure slowly raised his hand into a feeble wave, and softly spoke the word "Hi," in a voice that could only belong to the object of Amelia's affections.

"Mr Zelgadis!" This time her voice was bursting with enough joy, relief, and love to make Xellos drop dead of an acute upper resperatory infection on the spot.

What happened next was perhaps the single greatest attack in history. Sages and scholars world over would look back on it as the finest example of strategy and tactics known to mankind. Sun Tzu truly spoke of it when he said, "Attack so as to be irresistable." The recipient of that attack was caught completely defenseless by its ferocity.

Yes, in that moment Amelia truly mastered the Joyful Reunion Bear Hug attack.

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_A Month earlier..._

The noonday sun shone mercilessly upon the cafe. The lone, hooded figure sitting at it didn't bother to learn its name, nor did he much care. All he knew was that it was in a town near the Outer World, near where the Barrier used to be. The figure's name was Zelgadis Greywyrds.

Zelgadis was a troubled man. In his impetuous youth, he had asked his grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest, to make him more powerful. And his wish had been granted indeed, but at a terrible cost. The very source of that power was now his terrible curse, for Rezo had made Zelgadis into a chimera. He was a third Mazoku and a third Golem. The result was that his skin was made of blue stone, with small darker blue pebbles mottling its surface. His hair had been stiff before, but no human hair could truly compare in stiffness to the wires he now sported from his head. He wore fingerless gloves, and a very covering hood, cloak, and facemask, all of an onobtrusive beige color.

Because of his curse, he had grown used to the people of the world treating him harshly; a freak at best and a monster at worst. He in return had hardened himself, and now his stony heart matched his skin. He was tough, almost invulnerable, but at the cost of not truly feeling.

As he sat in the bar, slowly sipping his coffee and pondering what to do next, one of the most annoying possible things that could have happened to Zelgadis did.

Xellos showed up.

Xellos appeared to be an eternally smiling man of average height and purple hair, his eyes ever closed. His only distinctive gear was his staff, as tall as he was, with a red gem half-circled by the wood. But in reality, Xellos was one of the most powerful Mazoku in existence short of the Lords. A creature of pure evil who fed on negative emotions, Xellos nevertheless had a twisted sense of honor. He never lied or betrayed his word, but no being walking the earth could twist the truth better than he. He always had an agenda, always an ulterior motive behind everything he did.

And what he was doing at that moment was approaching Zelgadis.

"Why, its Zelgadis! Fancy meeting you here."

"Save it, Xellos. You and I both know that if you've come here then the timing is no coincidence."

"Ah, you're quite right of course." Xellos dismissivlely waved his hand. "Old habits, really. Most don't know who and what I am, after all."

"Yes, I know what you are. Which is exactly why I can't trust anything you're about to say."

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Xellos' smile fell into a concerned frown.

Zelgadis sighed. Though he was loath to admit it, Xellos was more powerful than he was. The simplest way to get rid of him would probably be to hear him out. "... What do you want?"

The Mazoku's smile perked up once again as he sat down next to Zelgadis. "Well, I want your help."

Zelgadis scoffed. "You need _my_ help?"

"Well, I need the help of a powerful shamanic mage... and in the past, when our interests have coincided like this, you've been reasonable."

"_Our_ interests?"

"Oh yes, I'm not so foolish as to think that you'd help me for nothing! You see, I've found your cure."

There was a moment of silence.

"WHAT! Xellos, I swear, if you're lying to me again - "

"Hey! I never lied to you!"

"That's such a load of - "

"Now, I'll be the first to admit that I misled you, left out information in the past, but when have I ever actually lied?"

Zel, even in his fury, had to admit that Xellos had a point. "... and what are you getting out of this?"

"Now that is a secret!"

"Then why should I help you?"

"I had hoped the knowledge of your cure would be sufficient inducement. After all, even that princess whose bracelet you're wearing worked with me when our goals coincided."

At Amelia's mention, Zelgadis bristled. "... How do I know that this is for real?"

"A very long time ago, just after the war between the Dragons and the Mazoku, there was a cache of artifacts. Some very powerful Shamanic mages controlled them, and didn't want us Mazoku to get our hands on them. So they put all of the artifacts in a temple and erected a powerful barrier that only a potent shaman could lower. Not to be outdone, the Mazoku chose to put up a similar barrier of our own, so that the shamans couldn't get at them either." Xellos leaned in closer. "Now, most of the items in there are as trinkets to beings such as us. But a few of the peices are truly something special. One such is the Circlet of Animalia."

Zelgadis' interest was piqued. Xellos sounded dead serious, an indication that he might not be leading a wild goose chase.

"The Circlet is a powerful magic item that allows the user to shapeshift at will."

"So it's not a cure at all."

"On the contrary, it is. You see, the magic of the circlet actively restores the wearer to his original form as it is removed."

"... so all I have to do is put this thing on for a bit and take it off again?"

"Essentially, yes. You might have to use it first, I'm not entirely sure."

"And what do you gain by this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want one of the other pieces in the collection."

_There's no way he'll tell me what it is... _"How did you discover this if it's behind an impenetrable barrier?"

Xellos' smile widened. "Because, dear Zelgadis, I put the Mazoku barrier up myself."

At this, Zelgadis raged, flipping the table over. "You knew? You knew this all along?"

Xellos backed away and put his hands up as if to ward Zelgadis back. "Now, now! There's a lot of information running about in my head, and I didn't stand to gain by it until now."

Zelgadis struggled to regain control, breathing heavily. After a full minute of silence, he turned to Xellos. "One condtion." At Xellos' patient silence and neutral expression he continued. "Swear to me that this won't harm Am- me or my friends."

Xellos' smile returned. "I swear that I will not use the power of the item I seek to gain in this temple to directly harm you, Amelia Seyrune, Lina Inverse, or Gourry Gabriev."

"Directly?"

"Even I can't account for the butterfly effect, and I won't make an oath I can't keep."

Zelgadis stared at Xellos for a long time, searching for any trace of deceit. Finally, he spoke four fateful words.

"All right, let's go."


	2. Caves and Conversation

Zelgadis had insisted on sending a letter before they left, and Xellos had agreed with annoyance. Now as he sat here, pen in hand, Zelgadis couldn't decide exactly what to say. _Should I tell her who I'm with? No, she'd get concerned and come looking for me. _Sighing, he opted for his usual non-informative correspondence. After all, if her hopes weren't up, then she'd be no more let down than usual, right? So his letter was short and to the point.

_Amelia,_

_I've found another lead here, at the last town I wrote from. I'll let you know how it goes._

_Zelgadis_

Frowning, he unconsciously stared at the bracelet Amelia had given him when they last parted ways. She had been so terribly shy about it, so unlike herself.

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_A Few Years back..._

"Um, Mr. Zelgadis?" On hearing his name, the chimera stopped, though he did not turn to face Seyrune's princess. He kept his gaze fixed on the road that led out of the country.

"Amelia, I have to go. I can't live here, not like this."

"I know! But I... well..."

Zelgadis at last turned to face her. "Either say it or don't. I'll lose no sleep wondering what you might have said."

"Well, I remember at that last temple we found that book of traditions..."

"And?"

"And there was one I kinda liked!" Her uncharacteristic fidgeting was accompanied a seemingly profound interest with a particular spot on the floor. For a moment neither one spoke.

"Um, you remeber the village it talked about? Where everyone tied strings on their fingers?"

"Vaguely. Its of no interest to me how ignorant people try and help their memory."

"Well, I was thinking you could do that!" She hopped upwards, finally bringing her eyes to meet his.

"Huh?"

"Well, I'd really like you to write me this time, Mr. Zelgadis..." She once again began to fidget, shifting from one foot to the other.

"..."

"And I thought this might help you remember!" She suddenly and proudly thrust the bracelet toward him.

_I don't need this. I don't deserve this. It'll give her false hope. It'll give _me_ false hope. It'll raise too many questions. I shouldn't... I _can't_... I..._

Hesitantly, he reached his hand out and took the bracelet, carefully not touching Amelia as he did so. He then fastened it to his canteen. "Goodbye." He turned quickly on his heel and strode out, not daring to look back at her face.

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He sighed, having paid the courier. Xellos waited outside.

"Are you ready then?"

Zelgadis simply replied with a glare and a nod.

"All righty! One moment..." Xellos grabbed the chimera's shirt and the two teleported through the astral plane.

Reappearing in the physical realm, Zelgadis took a moment to take in his surroundings. The pair was standing near the top of a mountain, just outside the entrance to a cave. All Zelgadis could see on the horizon was more mountains.

"Well, off we go! Just right down through here." Xellos began walking into the cave, not looking back to see if Zelgadis followed.

The trip through the caves was largely silent. Zelgadis wasn't one for unnessecary speech, and both of them knew that words could shatter their tenuous alliance. Xellos simply led the way through a veritable labyrinth of tunnels, always going down. Finally, they came to a distinctive room. A massive rope bridge spanned a chasm. A half-rotted sign, using either ink or dried blood for writing, proclaimed, "Troll bridge. Pay troll." On the other side was an archway carved out of the stone, adorned with ancient script. The gateway was covered by a fluctuating field of energy that shifted colors between green and black. Zelgadis cast a quick spell to analyze the magic, but didn't get very far before they heard growling.

"Oh my, cave trolls. Well, I'll be back when you're done dealing with them."

"What!" But it was too late, Xellos had phased out just before the three massive trolls approached, two from Zelgadis' right and one from his left. The massive brutes hefted clubs in one hand.

"Pay up, puny! Or we eat you!"

Zelgadis looked at his options. _I could offer to pay, but I doubt I have enough cash. Besides, they're just trolls. I can fight them off._ "Stand aside, Ugly! Or I remove you!" The trolls, of course, were too stupid to listen. But a few spells later, Zelgadis watched the trolls fall in the chasm, his stone skin unhurt by their feeble blows.

_Now, to cross this chasm._ He tentatively placed one foot onto the bridge, testing his weight on it. The bridge creaked and graoned in agony, but it seemed as though it would support his weight. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began walking across the noisemaking bridge. _Just try not to look down..._ Unfortunately, just as he thought that, Zelgadis heard the horrible sound of snapping wood. His face contorted into an expression that Lina would have made endless fun of him for, as the bridge broke in two just beneath him. He desperately grabbed onto his end, and for his efforts was slammed roughly into the far wall of the chasm.

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_Present Day..._

Amelia sat leaning forward in her chair, her head perched attentively in her hands. Her eyes had a glazed, faraway look to them that suggested she had no idea what was actually being said. That was not entirely true; one did not go through a lifetime of diplomatic training without learning how to pick up important details in conversation. But it was fair to say that she cared far more about listening to the _voice_ than the _words._

"It's harder for me to change into a form I'm not familiar with; the process is mental as wellas physical. For instance, assuming my chimeric form is... easy."

"But something like a snake is harder?" The second speaker was of course Lina, querying Zelgadis about his new magical "toy". Gourry didn't understand half of what was being said, and Amelia was too busy just listening to the divine sound of Zelgadis Greywyrds.

"Yes, it takes me longer to assume and I can't maintain it for long. Though I've noticed that if I practice with one, I get better at it. But enough of this, I'm tired."

At this, Amelia perked up and refocused on the rest of reality. "Oh, then you should sleep!"

"Yes... I was on my way to an inn, but I happened to see you, so..."

"WHAT! I could never be so unjust as to allow someone I l-like to sleep in a common inn! You're a hero of this Kingdom!"

"I wouldn't want to impose..."

Lina interjected to defuse the brewing argument. "Nonsense, Zel! You've got no excuse this time, you don't have to hide that pretty skin of yours. When someone does you a favor, accept it!" With that, the quartet arose from their seats and began to head toward the castle.

Lina and Gourry wisely pretended not to notice as Amelia took Zelgadis' hand in her own. Zel flinched at the sudden contact, but otherwise didn't react at all. Though he did not grasp her hand in exchange, netiher did he push it away.

None of them noticed, nor cared, that Zelgadis had left his drab cloak behind.


	3. Treasure and Trepidation

Zelgadis took a scant moment to collect himself. Hanging precariously from a rope bridge was bad. He decided that he was better off hanging from the cliff iftself. Sure enough, moments after he grabbed the cliff instead of the bridge, he watched it fall past him into the depths. He heard no sound of it hitting anything. Great... and I know for a fact I weigh as much as an anchor!

Zelgadis slowly, carefully began to ascend the rock. After a few minutes, he made the mistake of thinking, this can't get any worse!

"Oh my! It looks like I'm a little late."

Me and my big mouth...

Zel looked up and saw Xellos' hand stretching out to him, a wide smile on his face as always. "Oh, so now you want to help?" the chimera snapped.

As he grabbed Xellos' hand, the mazoku replied, "Of course! I need your help, after all."

"And the trolls?"

"I didn't feel like it." Zelgadis snorted.

"Whatever. Now lets lower these wards."

"Of course!" The lowering itself turned out to be quite anticlimactic; it merely required a certain amount of raw shamanic power applied to the proper place.

One last tunnel greeted the odd duo, who side by side walked down it. Rounding a corner, they came at last to the hoard. And a hoard was the only word to describe it; gems and magic items lay in haphazard piles all over the room. Other rooms could be seen, with their own piles, beyond runed archways. "Well, I'll leave you to find your part."

"What? You know where it is, now show me!"

"I need to retrieve what I came for, Zelgadis. Don't."

"You bastard! How will I know what it is!"

"Trust me, you will."

Zelgadis felt a low growl rise in his throat. Without thought, he summoned shamanic magics to his hands, clenching them into fists.

"But Mr. Zelg-a­-dis!" Xellos whined, in a disturbingly accurate imitation of Amelia's voice. "I don't want you to die fighting Mr. Xellos, I want you to come home to me!" Tense moments passed. Zelgadis was practiacally trembling with rage, but he finally spun on his heel and began to look through the items.

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Three days later, he searched still. The multichambered hoard was vast and unsorted. Xellos had spoken the truth; most of the items here would be considered worth killing for by most people, but to people as skilled and powerful as the chimera and the mazoku, they were little more than trinkets.

At last, as he tossed aside a shield with a minor warding spell, Zelgadis' eyes happened upon a silver circlet. Four points rose at equal intervals, and upon the entire surface designs were embossed. Animals of every variety Zelgadis knew of were depicted, all of them travelling counterclockwise upon the crown's surface. "The Crown of Animalia..." This was the moment of truth.

Gingerly, Zelgadis placed the crown upon his head, forcing his wiry hair aside. He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. I want to be human! For a long moment, he held that breath. Then, he let it out of his still stone lips. I WANT to be HUMAN! Still, nothing happened. A lesser man might have broken down then, but Zelgadis had long ago given up on giving up. Okay, so it works some other way... Acting on intuition, he tried to imagine himself as a human. He pictured his hair moving when touched, his skin pale. He tried to remember how it felt to have clothes touch his soft skin. Only a lifetime of habit kept him from losing concentration due to elation when he felt himself begin to change. Finally, he dared open his eyes... and stared at human hands.

The years of searching... the taunts, insults, the hate... all of it was over! Zelgadis, stoic as he was, would have danced and shouted for joy. Would have, but for the screaming. He stopped at once when he heard it, even with his new, less sensitive ears. From somewhere else in the cavern, a voice that could have been Xellos' was screaming as if in pain. Zelgadis raced toward the sound, but it stopped before he could track it down.

The next hour was spent experimenting. Zelgadis discovered three very important things in his tests of the circlet. First, it was harder to take on a form he was less familiar with. Second, he returned to his human form whenever he took it off. Third, the speed of the change was proportional to how well he knew the form. The better he knew it, the easier it was to assume and the longer it took to wear off when he removed the crown.

As he sat on a pile of gold, smiling freely for the first time in years, Zelgadis saw something unusual. Xellos approached. This was not unusual, but the manner of that approach was. Xellos was practically limping, leaning heavily on his staff for support. Zelgadis knew Xellos didn't breathe, but expected that he would be doing so heavily if his body required it. Zelgadis wasn't sure how to react to this...

"... Are you all right?" Was how he finally decided to approach the phenomenon.

Xellos response was weak-voiced, passive. "I didn't think you cared."

"I may not like you, but... what happened?"

"I found what I was looking for."

"What was it? What could do that to you?"

"That... is a secret! I see you've found your crown. Our business is done."

"Wait! Please, what did you find?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

Zelgadis was, as previously mentioned, a stoic man. He had faced down many things, only few of them more dangerous than the being that leant before him now. But what he saw in that moment frightened him deeply. It left him at a loss for words, and more than a little worried.

You see, at that moment Xellos smiled... and opened his eyes. After a moment, he phased away, leaving a stunned and shaken Zelgadis alone among the comfortless gold.

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Present day...

Arriving at the castle and securing rooms was a straightforward affair. Lina took Gourry to 'see the gardens'; a thinly veiled exucse to leave Amelia and Zelgadis alone. Much to Zelgadis' surprise, Prince Phil did not greet him.

"Amelia, where's Phil?" As he spoke, they walked through the art galleries of Seyrune castle.

"Oh, daddy's just negotiating with the Sarn ambassador. I sent word you were here, but this is important. I don't think he'll be done until late." Amelia still clung to Zelgadis hand "The Sarn are threatening war, and we need to avoid that."

"War?"

"Oh, but that's not important right now, Mr. Zelgadis!" The princess spun, or perhaps leapt, to face Zelgadis and grabbed his hand with both of hers. "I... I don't want to talk about stuff like that right now..."

Zelgadis was acutely aware of how flushed his face became. "Uh... Sooo..." Amelia's smile seemed to taunt him with expectation. "Um..." Embarrased, Zelgadis rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"Oh, I missed you so!" Amelia pounced upon him, enveloping the shaman in another bear hug. Zelgadis let out a startled squeak, and tensed up in her arms. Noticing this, Amelia quickly leapt off. "What's wrong?" Before he had a chance to respond, Amelia quickly started to ask questions. "Are you injured? Are you sick? Is there something wrong with me? Are you going to die? Why won't you - " she caught herself as the look from his face changed from shock to worry.

"No, no, I'm fine.. I just... I'm not used to having skin."

"Huh?"

"For years my sense of touch was dulled. I'm... still not used to it yet. You just surprised me, that's all." As her face changed to one of relief, his followed suit.

So he's still not used to allowing it... That's so sad...

"Oh, you had me so worried Mr. Zelgadis!" That said, Amelia stood there, unsure what to do next. "Um, do you want some coffee?"

How did she know to offer me coffee? "Yes, thanks." Was she watching me and not the daily foodfights? Questions assailing his confused mind, he walked with Ameila toward the kitchen, both of them keeping a respectful distance from each other.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry for the delay in posting time. I'd like to claim it was Real Life's fault, but in truth Star Control 2 (sc2dotsourceforgedotnet) and Trigun are just as much to blame. No promises on the next chapter, but I will try to stick to one per two weeks.

PS: Reposted to fix missing lines


	4. Silence and Serenades

Zelgadis and Amelia walked to the kitchen, side by side. The princess asked a servant for coffee, while Zel sat down at the table. For long moments neither one spoke. At last, in a trembling voice, the heir to Seyrune spoke up.

"I missed you, Mr. Zelgadis."

"...I could tell."

"I really mean it though." She sat down and gazed at him, half-hiding her adoration. He, for his part, gazed intently at the mug of coffee the servants had brought. "I'm sorry if I overreacted earlier, I just - "

"No, I understand." Another uncomfortable silence descended. Once again, Amelia broke it first.

"So... what do you plan to do now?"

A strange look that Amelia couldn't quite place passed over Zelgadis' face. "I... don't know." Only her years of training kept the heartache that caused from showing on Amelia's face.

"Oh." The word was quiet, very quiet.

"... Well, it's really wierd, you know? I mean, its so strange but..."

"...But what?" Her speech was hopeful again.

Zelgadis took a long sip of his coffee. "It's like I've lost my purpose." At the confused look on Amelia's face, he continued. "I mean, for years it was my mission, my life, to recover my body. And now I have. I don't think I ever really thought about what I'd do after that."

_I thought you wanted to stay with me after you got your body back... After all, you came, didn't you? Did you just feel obligated? Don't you want to be with me?_

Amelia's now-turbulent thoughts reflected the dampened mood. For his part, Zelgadis didn't know what to say, what to do. So he said nothing, and did nothing.

After a time, Amelia spoke up again. "It's late, Mr. Zelgadis. I should let you get some sleep." Zelgadis mumbled something that might have been agreement.

As he rose and shuffled toward the door, a thought came to her mind. "Mr. Zelgadis?" He stopped, and turned to look at her.

"Is it... can I... can I call you... just Zelgadis?"

And then, something happened that Amelia hadn't expected. Zelgadis gave her the look that meant she was acting strange again. "Okay. Though Lina will probably make fun of you. After all, 'Just Zelgadis' is kind of wierd for a pet name." Unable to maintain his composure, a small smile slipped onto his face.

_Did he just... make a joke... at my expense? _Amelia's frown slowly smoothed and turned into a smile. She bounced up onto her tiptoes and pointed her finger in the air dramatically. "Let us hope she won't be that unjust!" He chuckled, a small but honest display of mirth. "Good night, Just Zelgadis!"

He paused, a small smile gracing his lips. "Good night, Amelia." And he turned to walk out.

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Meanwhile, in a small country called Sarn, the advisory council met. King Bradley looked about the room at all the faces that sought to help him rule. _Or at least rule through me_, he thought scornfully.

"If we raise the taxes but a little more, we can afford to equip our soldiers with better armor." The speaker was a minor functionary, just barely able to sit here.

"Nonsense! Our people will still need to eat! Unless you plan to have the invading troops bring Seyrune's _ice cream_ back that quickly!" A mirthless laugh passed through the room.

A third advisor chimed in, "I retain my position on the matter; we don't need a war with Seyrune right now."

"I agree." This was the ambassador to Seyrune, one of the few people here that King Bradley considered competent. "Prince Phil suspects, or knows, that our efforts at diplomacy are a farce. Soon he will lose all patience for it, bar me from his castle to prepare for war."

"Then we just need to be ready all the sooner." This new voice was indeed new to the table, having only spoken here the better part of two weeks. None of the other advisors dared contradict him; they all feared the ever-smiling presence who had rapidly and mysteriously gained the King's trust.

King Bradley finally spoke. "We are indeed commited to this course of action. So let us hear no more dissent. We must speed up our preparations. Raising taxes will help that. Anyone else have a productive idea?" Silence followed. "Well, Mr. Xellos, do you have a plan?"

Xellos turned his closed eyes to face the King and his smile deepened.

"It just so happens that I do."

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The Princess of Seyrune was unable to sleep. This was not unheard of, although it was unusual. At the moment, the cause of her insomnia was a certain chimera. _Ex-chimera_, she corrected herself.

_It's so sad... I can see what he meant. He was noble before... but his house is essentially gone. He has nothing to _do_ anymore, no mission... I was such a fool. How could he just up and settle down with me? He was always striving, always questing, and so help me I love that about him._

She sighed and walked out onto her balcony to look at the full moon. The sky was clear tonight, and the stars shone brightly. But Amelia wasn't cheered by them; indeed, she barely noticed.

_Am I stifling him? Is he so uncomfortable staying here that I should let him leave again? Or is he just shy? I wish I knew! ... I need to get my mind off of this._

She began to sing. Her song of choice was called "Ballad of the Knight Errant." It was a long, winding song about a lady, waiting for her knight to come home. The lady in the song spent long verses speculating on the knight's activities, each more daring and grandiose than the last.

Her voice rose and fell with the quiet flow of the lyrics. This had always been a favorite song of hers as a child, and many times singing it had helped to clear her mind. She imagined herself on a stage, with everyone she knew watching and listening. She could almost hear the chords of a single guiolin playing the music for her to sing to.

At long last, the final verse came. The lasy saw her knight on the horizon, and began to run to him. The song ended there, and Amelia returned to the here and now. As the guiolin sounds died down, she came to a startling realization. She _had_ heard music! Wheeling around, she saw Zelgadis sitting on the railing of the next balcony over, guiolin in hand. Her face began burning red.

"Oh... um, hello... I didn't know you were in the room next to mine."

"I didn't either."

"Um..." Acting on impulse, Amelia gave a mock curtsy.

"That was beautiful. I didn't know you could sing like that." His earnest compliment wasn't helping her blush go away.

"Um, well... I only sing once in a while..."

Zelgadis set his instrument down and muttered a quiet spell. He levitated across the distance between them.

_He looks like an angel when he's flying like that... _She supressed the thought, but as he passed in front of the full moon, she realized that he was wearing only a robe. She flushed even deeper at that, and felt a slight stirring of lust. Shaking her head, Amelia regained her composure at last.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I'm... glad I could hear it." Now that he was this close, Amelia could see that his face was red, too.

Zelgadis, for his part, was indeed just as nervous as the lady that stood before him. _What are you doing? Is this really appropriate?_

_Do you really care?_ another part of his mind asked.

"Listen, I... I'm sorry about today, Amelia." Zelgadis sat on her balcony, curling both legs up into a curled stance. He took a deep breath, then continued. "I just... I don't know how to act around you anymore. I really don't have any experience with... you know... this sort of thing."

_This sort of thing? Does he mean not questing? Romance? Or something else?_ "That's okay, Zelgadis!" She shifted closer to him, and her heart leapt with joy when he didn't flinch back. "I guess I don't either..."

Zelgadis looked up at the moon. "Fair enough..."

For a moment they just stood there and gazed up at the night sky. Amelia shifted a bit closer to him. Zelgadis gave her a wry look from the corner of his eye, but soon went back to stargazing. Amelia began to reach over to him, but held back. "Um, Zelgadis?"

He didn't respond; he just looked at her expectantly. The eye contact made the princess even more nervous than she already was. "Um... is your skin still all sensitive?"

Amelia thought he caught a glimpse of... relief, perhaps, as he chose now to gaze on the gardens below. "Yes. I think it will be for a while. I am getting better, though. For the first couple of days I could hardly stand to wear clothes." The mental image _that_ statement induced caused Amelia's earlier desire to swell again, heady and embarrasing all at once. She felt almost compelled to get nearer to him, to be close to her stoic shaman.

"Can I... hold your hand?"

Zelgadis looked at her with visible uncertainty, and for a long moment she feared that he might say no. But at last he held his right hand out to her, and as she slipped her hand into his Zelgadis gently enclosed her small hand in his.

A wave of contentment washed over Amelia, and for a long while they just sat there, just like that.

A few minutes later, Zelgadis came to an annoying realization: his leg was falling asleep. Furthermore, there was no way to move it without shifting _very_ close to Amelia.

_And what's wrong with that, hmm?_ he asked himself.

_Nothing, but... is it allowable? Will she let me?_ An objective observer might note how deeply self-deluded his questions were, but Zelgadis was not such an objective observer. Cautiously he shifted, but not cautiously enough. Amelia moved herself, in an attempt to let him move more easily. Unfortunately for the two of them, Amelia's occasional clumsiness chose this moment to flare up.

They fell, Zelgadis on top of Amelia. Zelgadis ended up leaning over her, with his face mere inches from hers. He was sure that his face was just as red as hers had become. Much to his relief, his hands hadn't landed anywhere... wierd. But her leg was right up against his... well, you know.

Slowly, Amelia reached a hand toward his trembling face. Just before she made contact, Zelgadis bolted up, standing as quickly as he could.

"Um, it's late. I should get some sleep." _Coward_, he told himself.

"Zelgadis..." But it was too late, Zelgadis had already levitated back to his balcony.

As he lay in bed, trembling, Zelgadis' inner voice berated him horrifically.

_You coward! She wants you, what's so wrong with that?_

_I was scared... to be touched..._

_Coward._

For the life of him, as he lay there pretending not to hear Amelia's sobs next door, he had to agree with himself. He was a coward.

Remember how I said two weeks? Four months ago? Yeah, my bad. This time, Real Life is in fact to blame. I had some writers block just as I had to start reapplying for school, and this story totally and completely took the back burner. But then I came up with the balcony scene, and I have continued!

As far as the next update? Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies. Just know that I do plan to finish this.


	5. Metaphors and Mysteries

The next morning came, serene and peaceful. Lina and Gourry were enjoying a walk in the castle gardens after breakfast. "You know, Lina, you didn't have to steal all of the pork chops..."

"Nonsense! To the victor go the spoils, and I was certainly the victor here! It's not my fault you're too slow to get any!"

Yes, the castle cooks had been working triple-time to feed the danerous duo. After all, when the bill goes to the royal family, why not eat even more than usual?

"Obviously without the sword of light, your skills have gotten rusty! We need to go find you a new..." Lina trailed off, noticing that Gourry wasn't reacting to her teasing at all. "What's up?"

Gourry was staring off at, or perhaps through, some of the bushes in the garden. He had that serious look on his face that meant trouble. "Come on." Then he took off at a very brisk walk, though not a run.

_What's up with him? I don't see anything..._ The red haired sorceress, though, had long since learned to trust her companion's gut; if Gourry thought something was wrong, something was almost always wrong.

Gourry was proven right moments later when the duo rounded a bush, coming face to face with a crying Amelia. From the streaks on her face, she had been crying for a while. The princess of Seyrune sat on a bench, sobbing softly, and looking anything but regal. Upon her friends' approach she looked up briefly. "Mrs. Lina..." Her voice was at the same time pleading and hopeless. She then broke into sobbing once more.

Gourry sat beside Amelia and put an arm around her shoulder, but still maintaining a little distance. Lina, for her part, wasn't sure what to do! She'd never seen Amelia like this, or for that matter anyone she really cared about like this. "What... what's wrong?"

The plaintive response that Amelia gave was more like a wail than words. "It was perfect! We were singing and everything and he played for me and... " her voice trailed off into more weeping.

_Oh boy, this is gonna be good..._ It took the combined efforts of Lina and Gourry at least a good ten minutes to calm Amelia down to the point where she could tell them a rational story.

"Last night, I went out on my balcony to sing. Zelgadis heard me, and played the song on his guiolin."

_No Mr., huh?_ thought a certain sorceress._ That's a secret to pry from her, but some other time..._

"Then he came over and we watched the sky for a while." She wheeled upward and faced Lina directly, urgency in her voice. "He even let me hold his hand, Miss Lina! It was wonderful... And then I screwed it up. I screwed it all up!" Her face threatened to bunch back into tears, and Lina and Gourry had to again calm her before she could continue. "He tried to move, but we fell down instead... then I tried to touch him, and he ran away! Oh, it was all going so well, I thought he wanted to..." She almost began sobbing, but settled into quiet sniffling instead.

"Why that... rrr!" Lina stood and bagan pacing, her rage at a certain shaman threatening to boil over. "I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind, and maybe a fireball or two to boot!"

"No, Miss Lina! Please don't... If he doesn't want to be with me then I won't make him! I just... he came back, so I thought... I'm such a fool! Of course he won't sweep me off my feet! He must hate me!"

Lina was trying to decide how to respond to the overemotional princess, when Gourry suddenly snapped his fingers and looked up. Indeed, one could almost see the lights go on in his mind.

"Oh! It's just like swordfighting!"

There was a moment. Gourry stared at Amelia as though he had just explained everything. Amelia and Lina stared at him like he was crazy. Lina then spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Jellyfish?"

The (former) Swordsman of Light knew that tone all too well. A meek "Yeah?" was heard.

"You have THITRY SECONDS to explain how that makes any sense at all!!!"

"EEEP! Well, um, okay..." Gourry got in his 'thoughtful' pose for a few moments, obviously searching for the right words.

"Okay, you know how when you're fighting, you have to keep track of where everyone is, right?" His two companions nodded softly. "Well, when you fight often enough, you just kinda get used to doing that. And you even do it when you aren't in combat, just becasue you're that used to it. Like, there are two gardeners over there," he said, pointing behind a seemingly random bush, "and that's how I saw you before Lina did. No offense, Lina, but you don't pay attention that well."

Lina glared. "Ten seconds, Jellyfish."

"Well, the thing is, I'm so used to it that when I _can't_, like I'm blinded or something, it makes me really nervous. I don't feel safe, even if I'm fighting things so weak that I'm not in real danger. Im out of my, um, whattayacallit? Comfort place?"

"That makes sense, Mr. Gourry," interjected Amelia, "but what does that have to do with Zelgadis?"

"Oh! Well that's easy. It's just like that for him, but with emotions and stuff instead of swords."

Amelia just said "huh?" but Lina seemed to understand.

"So, he's so used to being closed off that he's scared to be emotional, even when he wants to?"

Gourry looked very proud of himself. "Yep! Exactly!"

Lina bit back a sarcastic comment when she saw Amelia's mouth turn upwards into a smile. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Gourry." She sniffled once more, and reached a hand up to dry her eyes. The heir to the throne then reached up and gave Gourry a big hug. Watching her best friend hug Gourry, Lina felt a surge of emotion. _But it couldn't be jealousy, no sir! Not possible! _So she dismissed it for the time being.

"I'm going to go find Zelgadis." The declaration was quiet. Ameila still seemed more subdued than usual, but a quiet hope had begun to radiate through her features.

Lina smiled. Today had been a good day after all. "Good luck, Amelia."

Amelia turned and began to walk purposefully toward the castle. However, fate was not so kind to her as to allow an immediate reunion! A page ran from the palace, screaming.

"Highness! You are needed in the throne room at once! It's an emergency!"

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Lina Inverse was known for two things. Spells, and her ability to talk. Well, okay, she was also known for several other things, like being flat-chested, and slaying bandits, and being greedy, and her appetite, and... well, you get the idea. But none of those were relevant here. The point was, Lina Inverse could talk up a storm. This fact was not unkown to the people standing in the throne room. Prince Phil, Amelia, Gourry, and even Zelgadis all knew that about her. Which made it even more telling that Lina Inverse, Enemy of all Who Live, was standing there, staring. Her jaw seemed to have broken, hanging limply as she simply stared at the spectacle before her.

The aforementioned people all stared as well. Zelgadis, who had seemed distinctly uncomfortable even before being shown in, had the look of a man who accepts what he sees because it is just too absurd to be false. Amelia was worried enough as it was, and to make matters worse she hadn't been able to talk to Zelgadis before being ushered in here and shown... that. Gourry, for his part, seemed to be taking the sight in stride. Which was to say that he appeared no more confused than usual.

"Hey Lina, what are they?"

As Lina still seemed incapable of moving her tongue and jaw, Prince Phil answered for her. "Well, my boy, I should think that was obvious! They appear to be presents!"

And indeed they did. Before the Heroes of Seyrune stood four ridiculous boxes. Each one was roughly a cube that was a man's height. Each one was a horrendous shade of burnt orange with lime green polka dots of varied sizes in no particular pattern. All four were identically adorned with equally garish ribbons that were lime green with burnt orange polka dots. In fact, there was only one characteristic that distinguished each box from the other three. Each one was tagged with a different name: Lina Inverse, Amelia Seyrune, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Greywyrds.

In front of all four boxes stood a simple purple pedastal, bearing aloft an enormous envelope. On the envelope was the writing, "FROM: The Lord of Riddles."

Lina gaped. Amelia blinked. Zelgadis crossed his arms and continued to stare. Prince Phil watched the quartet, a combination of worry and amusement on his face. Gourry, seemingly alone in his capacity to act, turned to Lina.

"So, can I open mine?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey, I actually managed my two week goal for once! Yay! I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

PS: Fixed a missing word 


	6. Presents and Ponderings

On hearing Gourry about to be dumb (well, dumber than usual), Lina snapped out of it. "No, Jellyfish, you can't open it!"

"Aww, but it's a present! And its not even my birthday!"

"Come on, bait-for-brains! It's obviously a trap of some sort."

"But I wonder..." This input was from the stoic voice of Zelgadis. "Why go to all that trouble for such an obvious trap?"

Gourry once again looked confused. "Trouble?"

Amelia chose that moment to chime in. "Those boxes have ridiculously powerful wards on them, Mr. Gourry. I've never seen one so complicated!"

Lina nodded sagely. "Whoever this Lord of Secrets is, he went to a lot of effort to make these things."

"Lord of who?" The quartet turned to look at Prince Phil, who had just asked that question. "You mean you can actually read the writing?"

Lina looked at Prince Phil as though he might be a moron, but only for a second. She had long ago decided that Prince Phil _was_ a moron, but one who knew what he was doing. "Well, it's kinda written in the common tongue."

Phil, for his part, raised an eyebrow as the other assembled people nodded their assent. "Interesting. Neither I nor my scribes can read the envelope. We'd been hoping you could tell us what language it was written in!"

Zelgadis was growing more annoyed by the second. "Obviously part of the wards. This guy obviously doesn't want anyone but us to read it."

"How do you know it's a guy?" queried the resident dumb blonde.

"Because he signed his name Lord, jellyfish."

"Oh!... So can I open it?"

"NO!"

Zelgadis growled in annoyance. He hadn't slept well, and in his sleepy mind it seemed that the boxes were mocking him, just by existing. Actually, they seemed that way to all of them, but Zelgadis in particular felt the smugness almost ooze off the boxes. So, Zelgadis did what he often did when he got frustrated; he snapped and did something kind of dumb. He strode towards one of the boxes.

The other four heroes in the room all clamored for him to stop, but he ignored them. He grabbed the ribbon and tugged at it. Then pulled on it. Then yanked with all his might. Finally, the ribbon slipped from his hand and he fell over backwards.

Amelia started forward to help him up, but hesitated when Zelgadis growled again. He was obviously not in a good mood, and the Princess wasn't sure how to act toward him right now.

It was Gourry who first broke the moment of silence. "Um, that one was for Amelia..."

Zelgadis made a face that was something between a glare and a pout. "I knew that, Gourry." Amelia felt her face redden, and her confusion only grew.

The writing on the tag shifted, as if made of smoke, and now formed new words: _Sorry, whoever you are, but this package is only to be opened by: _And a few moments later it shifted back, once again naming the heir to Seyrune.

Lina bopped the shaman on his not-so-hard head. "Let's read the note first. Now that I think about it, this guy went to a lot of trouble, so if nothing else he wouldn't finish us off quickly."

Lina opened the envelope, revealing a scroll that dropped and unrolled all the way across the floor. Lina cleared her throat and began to read.

"Well hello! As you have undoubtedly guessed, I am the Lord of Secrets. Who is that, you ask? All I can tell you now is that I am the newest Mazoku Lord. And I've given each of you presents! How wonderful! And before you ask -- wow, this guy is sure stuck up, huh?" At the glares of her companions, Lina continued. "Where was I... uh, I can't tell you what's in the boxes, it's a surprise! All I can do is assure you that they are given without intent to harm and in a guesture of good faith. I'll even tell you all aobut them to prove they're safe! This section of text will be revealed after you open your... hey! That jerk!"

"Well, Miss Lina, I guess there's really nothing to do but open them..."

"We shouldn't do them all at once." This input came from Zelgadis, who had picked himself up off the floor and was walking once again toward the boxes. He didn't hesitate at all as he pulled the ribbon off of his own box, which this time came easily.

There was a hissing sound, and purple smoke began to seep out of the cracks in the box. The five of them all jumped back, watching in fascination. With a sudden start, the lid shot off toward the cieling, trailed by a gyeser of the smoke. Finally, each side of the box fell open, and the smoke slowly cleared to reveal the gift.

Left in the center of the box was a small coin.

Lina picked the scroll back up, and with a cough, read the rest of it. "These coins will mark you as having my favor, and no servant of mine will dare harm you while you bear it. Further, minor fate-twisting magics will ensure that the coin returns to its rightful owner; you can give or trade it away but any effort to steal it will come to naught. The coins emit a faint divinatory pulse, ensuring that you don't have to have it in your hand at all! My deomns will recognize it even if it's in a pouch or somesuch. There is one final feature of the coins. I will accept them back from you in exchange for a favor. So please, let me know if there's anything I can do for you! Yours, The Lord of Secrets."

Zelgadis stooped and picked up his coin. The only engravings on it were a question mark on both sides. Only Amelia was paying enough attention to notice that Zelgadis was no longer annoyed. Instead, he seemed almost... worried as he strode out of the chamber. "Zelgadis!" Amelia started after him, only to be stopped by her father's hand engulfing her shoulder.

"Give him some time, my daughter. He seems in a particularly foul mood right now. I shall talk to him." True to his word, Phil followed after Zelgadis.

"... So can I open mine now?"

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A few hours later, coin in hand, Amelia wandered the gardens.

_Life just isn't fair sometimes,_ she decided. _We might have to go to war soon, and if I can't sort things out with Zelgadis... well, I don't want to think about it!_ So caught up was she in her thoughts that she was caught completely off guard...

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Zelgadis wandered the gardens himself, thinking on what he and the Crown Prince had discussed. Gone was his earlier foul mood, and even his worry. No, Zelgadis was a strange mix of anxious and... happy. _I want to do this... but should I right now? Amelia..._ his thoughts, normally oh so ordered, tumbled off into so many wordless motes. They sharpened once again, at hearing a familiar scream. _Amelia!_

"Amelia!" And off he ran.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Bah! Finals! Bah! Holiday shopping season! And that's all I have to say about how long this chapter took.


	7. Conflicts and Confessions

Amelia dodged to the left, then ducked and rolled backward. Blood trailed from her arm where it had been cut by the first surprise attack, and she couldn't get a spare moment to heal it. The princess was surrounded by dozens of foes, all in ridiculous black ninja outfits, bearing the crest of a single rose on their chests. Though the ninja clothes might have helped them during the night, in the gardens in the middle of the day the "ninja" just stood out more.

Despite the absurdity of it, they had somehow managed to sneak into the royal gardens. And they weren't too good at actually hitting her, but there were so many that she had no time to go on the offensive without risking serious injury. Dodging yet another series of attacks, she spared a brief bit of attention trying to locate any nearby guards. She had screamed to summon them more out of actual fright, but her arm was really hurting. If nothing changed she would be worn down eventually.

Amelia had enough experience in battle that it seemed to be moving in slow-motion, allowing her to easily jump over a pair of sweeping kicks. Unfortunately, it just as easily allowed her to see the incoming sword from another ninja, already in midair. She had just enough time to belatedly realize that her defensive maneuvering had fallen into a pattern, one that this foe had noticed and exploited. As the sword drew ever nearer, she braced for the coming pain.

But it never did.

"DUG HAUT!" Amelia's field of vision filled with jutting spikes of earth, forcing the incoming sword away from her, and severely injuring her assailant in the process. Then the Heir to Seyrune saw something amazing. Spiky, wiry hair, adorned with a silver crown. Blue, pebbled skin moving beneath a simple red tunic. Leaping into action to protect her, came the one called the Mysterious Heartless Swordsman. "You alright?" He didn't even spare the movement to look at her; instead he attacked the ninja with his bare hands. Zelgadis wasn't even bothering to dodge the multitude of attacks, choosing instead to let them glance harmlessly off of the familiar skin he was wearing.

She could barely keep her wits about her, reminding herself that it was time to fight, not ogle. "Give me time to heal!" He seemed to comply, moving to fend the attackers off of her position. The black-clad assassins, for their part, seemed hesitant. None of their intelligence had suggested that the mysterious "blue man" was anywhere near Seyrune, and his presence seemed to make the fight unwinnable. They stepped back, and threw down smoke bombs. When the smoke cleared, all of them were gone.

Visibly relaxing, Zelgadis shifted into his human form. Amelia watched, fascinated by the way his features seemed to melt seamlessly into shapes less familiar to her, but still unmistakably Zelgadis. As she finished healing her arm, the shaman turned to look at her once more. "You alright?" This time the question came quietly, calmly.

"Yeah. But this isn't good at all. Those ninjas bore the crest of Sarn! Um, are you okay Zelgadis?"

"I barely noticed those attacks, Amelia. I'm fine." His eyes weren't looking at her, they were unfocused. Long moments passed in silence. "Phil wants me to go to Sarn."

"What?"

"He wants me to try and find out what's behind all this. Sarn can't possibly beat Seyrune, even if Lina, Gourry, and I do nothing. So why?"

"But how can you - "

"I can shapechange now. I tried it earlier, and I can take on a human form… one that isn't my own."

"Oh."

Zelgadis rose, purpose seeming to fill his stride as he turned toward the castle. "I'm the only one who can do this, Amelia. I have to."

"Wait!" The princess leapt to her feet, and began to chase after him. "I need to talk to you." Zelgadis, for his part, simply turned around and watched her, waiting. _Cepheid, I hate when he does this! I never know what he's thinking!_ "Um, I need to tell you some things…" She grew fidgety, and it became so hard to look into his eyes.

"Does it need to be now?" Amelia felt more hurt by that than she could have imagined; even if she was used to it she still dared hope for more. But, summoning all her courage she looked him in the eye defiantly.

"Yes, it does. Especially if you're about to leave." Zelgadis blinked, once, twice, then sat down on a nearby bench.

"Alright, I'm listening."

"I need to say these things… to get them out in the open. But! I don't want you to feel like you have to respond yet, okay?" As he nodded, she desperately hoped that doing things this way would placate his need for emotional isolation. _Please, let him come to me…_ "First of all, I want you to know that… if you don't want to stay here, then don't stay just because of me."

"What - "

"Please!" She interrupted. "Please let me finish." Zelgadis closed his mouth and nodded. "I don't want you to stay just because you feel obligated or anything like that, even after I tell you the rest. You're always so driven, and I don't want you to deny that part of yourself." She took a deep, shuddering breath. _Wow, this really is scary… just like Mr. Gourry said…_ "I… I love you, Mr. Zelgadis. I know that's probably obvious by now, but I need to say it, and I think you need to hear it. I told you not to answer now, and I mean that, but I need you to know. I love you, and my dearest wish in this world is that you'd love me back."

Zelgadis simply sat, stunned. Amelia moved past him, so she wouldn't have to see his face. "I'll go tell daddy about the attack… and that you're going to Sarn for him." It took all her willpower to not tackle him to the ground and hold him so he could never leave. "Just, please come see me before you go… at least once." And with that she walked away.

Zelgadis sat in the gardens for a long time, alone with his thoughts. He was still in a lot of inner turmoil, but there was also a strange undercurrent of calm in him. It took him a while to realize why, but when he did it was so profound he almost cried. _She's letting me decide. That has to be so hard for her, but she left the ball in my court._

Rising, Zelgadis greeted the evening sun with a broader smile than had graced his face for over a decade.

_I have to tell her…_

As the sun set, he walked back to the castle, to the place he finally dared to hope for… home.

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Count Rugen walked down an isolated and dark corner of Castle Sarn's hallways, waiting to hear back from his ninja. If they succeeded, it would strike a great blow to Seyrune's morale. However, when he turned the corner there was a ghastly sight. There lay the body of his contact with the ninja, dead.

"My, my, someone hasn't been following the plan." Rugen spun around, only to find himself face to face with exactly who he feared he did.

"Xellos," he spat. "I don't think your plan is in our best interests at all. I think you're using us."

The Mazoku, older than most earthly kingdoms combined, simply smiled. "I think you're right."

"To what end?"

"Now that, is a secret! Of course, I can't have you disrupting my plans any further than you already have, worm."

It was then that Count Rugen saw the most terrifying thing he ever had in his life.

Xellos smiled... _and opened his eyes._

No one heard Count Rugen's screams, and no one ever found his body.

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Author's Note type-thing, in the form of an Animaniacs Omake! Further Disclaimer: I don't own Animaniacs either.

_From offscreen to on they run, three strange little animated children. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner._

_Suddenly they stop._

"_It's that time again!" Proclaims Yakko._

"_To watch AMVs?" Asks Wakko._

"_To create scathing social commentary?" Asks Dot._

"_No," says the elder Warner. "It's time to learn the day's lesson! And to find out what it is, we turn to the Wheel of Morality!" He guestures to the now-apparent wheel, then gives it a lazy spin. In a bored voice, he intones: "Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn. Tell us the lesson that we should learn." The wheel stops on "Moral number 6! And the moral is…" Taking a printout, Yakko reads aloud. "When Real Life delays a fic by four months, the Author is just as dissapointed as anyone. Apoligies all around."_

"_I don't get it." Comments Dot._

"_I'm hungry!" Says Wakko._

_Suddenly, from offstage is heard a whistle, causing the Warners to yip and run, eternally chased by the security guard Ralph._


	8. Royalty and Ritual

Zelgadis sat alone, waiting. He had more than enough clout to see Prince Phil on demand, but with all that was going on right now even he had to wait from time to time. The gibbous moon hung high in the sky through the tower window of the library where he sat, waiting.

Gone was his elation from earlier. Try as he might, Zelgadis didn't really _do_ happy that well. But in its place was something familiar, yet not. He felt determination. But it wasn't the determination of the search for his cure, the almost fanatic belief in achieving an impossible goal. Instead, he felt a quiet drive inside, a slow but steady reserve of will.

The heavy footsteps heralded Phil's approach long before he turned the corner and entered the room. Zel rose to greet the Prince, and saw that his face, normally vibrant and full of life, looked weary and a bit haggard. "Ah, Zel old boy! Good to see you again."

"... If you need sleep we can talk tomorrow."

"Nonsense! If you're here to talk about what I think you are, well then it certainly shouldn't wait!" A grin, smaller than normal but still there, made its way onto Phil's face. "Come, sit down for a minute."

Both Phil and Zelgadis sat, and silence descended for a moment. Finally Zelgadis spoke. "... Been a long day, hasn't it?" Phil just nodded. "Of course, yours was probably worse than mine." A slight chuckle escaped his lips. "Cepheid knows I'd rather be attacked than have to deal with the paperwork afterwards."

Another silence. Then Phil turned to face the once-chimera. "You know, Zel, once you commit to this course of action there will be no turning back."

"Of course not. ... Are we talking about Sarn or Amelia?" At this Phil let out a hearty guffaw.

"Well, I suppose it could be said of Sarn too, but I was thinking of my daughter. She's really pinned a lot of her hopes on you."

"I know." Zel suddenly found that he couldn't look Phil in the eyes

"If you left now, she'd be very hurt. But once you let her in... she'd be devastated if you ever left after that." Phil sighed and stood, gazing up at the moon. "I'm not trying to intimidate you, as if that would even work. But... she's my little girl. And you make her happy. And even if you don't let it show, I think she makes you happy."

"... She does."

Phil's grin returned. "Then I think you know what you need to do."

Zelgadis shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well..."

"What's wrong?"

"... As Rezo's grandson, I'm technically nobility. But I have no estates or --" Zel was cut off by a sharp snort.

"Trifles! My daughter expects nothing from you but you, Mr. Zelgadis."

"I know that! But I have no money, no income, nothing to offer. I don't think I could even afford a ring without selling almost everything I own."

"And when did I say I expected any of that?" Zelgadis started to protest yet again, but Phil continued. "Tell you what. If it makes you feel better, let's do it this way. You've helped save our kingdom, not to mention the world, many times. Your thankless service in protection of my daughter and my kingdom is more than enough to offer as the bride-price. As for the ring, well, I think I can commission something suitable as payment for your mission to Sarn."

Zelgadis was speechless for a moment as long force of habit made him search for a flaw, some reason why this couldn't work. But he found none. "Thank you. Thank you so much... Father."

Phil chuckled heartily. "Oh, dear boy, you've made an old man happy. I think the rest can wait for tomorrow. Just don't tell Lina about this, or she'll want even more money."

"My lips are sealed." Zelgadis allowed himself to smile. "Good night."

"Good night, son."

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The next morning Zelgadis woke with a smile on his face. Now, this wouldn't be too unusual for most people, but for Zelgadis it was a source of wonder that his familiar dour demeanor was fading. He rose and prepared for the day, preferring not to bother the servants.

_This is it._ _Today is the day I ask her..._ At the very thought of what he was about to do, the shaman felt the nervous energy grow in the pit of his stomach. The "heartless" swordsman couldn't remember ever feeling this anxious ever before in his life. He knew what her answer would be, every logical thought in his brain told him that she'd say yes. But still, somehow, there was still that raging doubt. _Maybe if I think of it like going to a shrine in search of my cure... I was able to make myself do that, even when I was sure nothing would come of it_... Unfortunately, the logical part of his brain reminded Zelgadis that while he'd had a near-infinite supply of places to search for his cure, there was only one Amelia.

After a long time standing in front of his mirror, Zelgadis set out to find Amelia.

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Said Princess currently sat on one of the castle's many patios. Lina and Gourry sat at the next table over (well, the next two tables... after all, they needed somewhere to put all that food!) and were engaged in their morning war - er, routine. Amelia was ignoring them, however. Not only was she used to it, but she had a lot on her mind.

A stray piece of pork was knocked in front of her, but she didn't so much as blink. Even when her friends' forks dueled for the meat right in front of her, she simply sat there, staring past her untouched food. Lina broke concentration from her duel for a moment, allowing her bodyguard to win the food. _The poor girl... maybe it didn't go well for her?_

"You all right, Amelia?" Amelia nodded blankly. "Coulda fooled me! Say, if you aren't gonna eat that, can I have it?" Amelia once again simply nodded, her thousand yard stare not seeming to change. The false sweet look faded from the sorceresses' face. _Dang! I hoped that would at_ least _get her attention!_

Lina frowned. This called for desperate measures. _Maybe if I "accidentally" blow something up, my antics will cheer her up..._ Fortunately, the world would not have to suffer the consequences of Lina's ill logic, as Zelgadis chose that moment to make his appearance.

He strode boldly from across the gardens, causing Amelia to break out of her stupor. Gourry ceased his noisy eating, wanting to watch with his full attention. Even the birdsong stopped, as though they too were holding their breath and watching.

For long moments the only sound to be heard was the clank of Zelgadis' boots on the stone pathways. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the tables. Kneeling and bowing his head as a knight would before his liege, Zelgadis finally broke the near-silence.

"Amelia Wil Tesla Seyrune, will you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?"

Another moment of silence prevailed as three souls anticipated her response. Zelgadis' worry from earlier resurfaced with a vengance, his irrational fears coming once again to the forefront of his mind. Slowly, he looked up to his Lady, hoping desperately to see happiness on her face.

His hopes were rewarded. Amelia was desperately trying to hold in tears of joy, and struggled to maintain her composure. She managed at last to force out the customary reply. "Noble sir, it would be my honor to receive your attentions." Giggling, she then gave into her urge and leapt downward to hug her love. "Of course you can, you big silly!"

"All right!" Interjected Lina, who jumped in the air holding her fork victoriously. "And its about time, too!"

Zelgadis, who was somehow still able to breathe even with Amelia holding him so tightly, looked up and grinned evilly. "Like you're one to talk, Lina."

Lina paused in mid victory dance, blushing furiously. "Wh... what's that supposed to mean, huh?"

Ignoring her, Zelgadis rose, drawing his princess up with him. "Amelia, would you care to accompany me to the gardens after breakfast?"

"Of course." Amelia's blank stare from earlier was replaced with a loving one. Amusingly enough, she still paid just as little attention either way to the fact that Gourry had stolen her food.

As he chewed on his purloined repast, Gourry found himself staring at the happy couple wistfully. _Wouldn't it be nice if me and Lina were like that sometimes... What am I saying, Lina doesn't do lovey-dovey. I don't even know if she likes me like that at all._ Nevertheless, the swordsman found himself distracted throughout breakfast, hoping.


	9. Walks and Warmth

_"We're approaching the chapter now, Captain."_

_"Very well, Mr. Sulu," said Kirk. "The landing party shall consist of myself, Mr. Spock, and Ensign Monsterfood."_

_"We should be careful, Captain." Said Spock. "I'm detecting unusually high WAFF content in this chapter."_

Consider yourself warned._  
_

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Today was the best day of Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune's life. The love of her life, Zelgadis Greywyrds, was human. He had asked to court her. And now he was walking with her in the palace gardens. _He _had reached out and taken her hand, _holding_ it in his own as they meandered. But most amazing of all, at least to her, was that he was smiling. Never before had she seen such a genuine, large smile grace the rugged features of her love.

She walked with a very un-princessly bounce in her step, giggling quietly at nothing and everything. He, for his part, was as silent as usual, seeming to bask in the ambience of the garden and her presence, choosing occasionally to give her hand a tentative squeeze that was always returned tenfold. A part of her, a very large part, really, wanted to jump and dance in glee, to climb to the highest places and shout her love to the world, and otherwise generally celebrate. Her (slightly) more rational mind told her that this would embarrass Zelgadis, that it was really _nice_ to feel his hand in hers, and that this quiet, too, was enjoyable.

A couple times she saw him turn his head, the way he tended to before weighing in on an important matter, but each time he seemed to stop. _But I don't need to worry about that anymore! He'll tell me when he's good and ready!_ Letting him come to her had seemed to work wonders recently, and she was confident it would continue to do so.

Her patience was rewarded at the base of a willow tree some time later. Zelgadis turned, and took her other hand in his. The Princess could feel her heart beat faster and faster, and nothing seemed more enticing than to spend forever staring back into his loving gaze.

He coughed a couple times, and still fidgeted a bit, before she could visibly see him collect his resolve. "I'm sorry."

"What for, Zelgadis?"

His smile grew sad for a moment as he answered. "For making you wait this long, mostly."

"It was worth the wait, Just Zelgadis." All trace of sadness vanished at her use of his new pet name, and he shyly lowered his gaze.

"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

She bounced slightly, and her giggle forced itself into a full-out laugh. "Nope!"

He reached his right hand up to gently caress her cheek. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he slowly reopened them and gazed directly into her eyes. "I love you, Amelia."

Amelia felt a blush creep across her face as she brought her left hand up to cover his hand over her cheek. _Say something, anything! Come on, Amelia! For Justice!_ But she found that all she could do was smile back at him, at the shaman who had long ago stolen her heart. Finally, quietly, she whispered back. "I love you too."

Slowly, ever so slowly, she took her hand off of his and reached for his shoulder. She stopped right before touching him, looking into his eyes questioningly. Seeing only his newly freed love, she slowly pulled him into her embrace.

The hug was somehow more intimate than anything Amelia had ever experienced. This was not the bone-crushing grip that she and her father could display, and yet it was somehow closer. This was warm, this was real, and this was such a release for the years and years worth of hoping and waiting.

"Please don't cry, Amelia..." Not until he spoke did she even realize that happy tears were falling from her eyes.

"But Zelgadis... I'm just so happy..."

The two stood there for who knows how long, just holding each other, until finally Zelgadis spoke again.

"I... I finally realized it, Amelia. I was so lost, but you found me."

"I... what do you mean?"

Her chimera (Ex-chimera, she still had to correct herself) let her go, and stepped away slightly. His gaze rose to the midmorning sun as he spoke. "Remember what I said the other day, about having no purpose?" At her nod, he continued. "I was wrong. I have a new mission now, one that I intend to pursue with just as much dedication as I used to my cure."

Amelia sighed inwardly. He said he loved her, but now here he was all excited about going to Sarn... _Is this how it's going to be? Is my Knight-Errant just going to go on quest after quest, leaving me trapped here in my official duties?_ The very thought made her sick to her stomach. "If going to Sarn for Daddy means that much -" but she was cut off by the laughter of the shaman before her. The sound rang so clear and beautiful in Amelia's ears that she couldn't help but want to hear more of it.

As his chuckles died down, Amelia's suitor turned back to face her. The look on his face was one she'd never seen before. Oh, she'd seen that same dedication, that same level of _serious_ from him more often that any other expression, but never before had he been _smiling_ while he did it. Somehow, the smile seemed to bring more gravity to his words. "No, Amelia. I didn't mean Sarn. I meant you."

"Eh?"

"You are my mission." He moved to her, taking her hands in his and clasping them together. "I want to see you safe, and happy." Amelia felt like her cheeks were on fire, and she rather suspected that she looked redder than Lina's hair. "And I promise, no, I swear to you right now that I will do anything to see that happen." His tone dropped somewhat, becoming slightly less forceful and somewhat more playful. "Including, if need be, infiltrating an enemy kingdom to stop a threat to Seyrune."

Emotions swam in Amelia's head. On the one hand, this was everything she'd ever dreamed of, and she'd be damned before she'd let it go. But on the other, old worries resurfaced. "Um... Not that I want to spoil this, but... but I have to know..." She tentatively looked up at him, and saw that he was waiting for her to say more in that frustratingly cute way of his. "I don't want you staying out of obligation!"

She was about to say more, but he shook his head and stepped forward. This had the side effect of gently squeezing their still-joined hands in between their chests, and his face was so very close to hers. "I said I love you Amelia, and I meant it. If I am obligated to be here, its for that reason and no other. This isn't some self-imposed punishment, it's not forced." He sighed before continuing. "You know, I'm honestly not sure when I fell in love with you." Amelia had to try so very hard to listen to him; the feel of their cheeks _not quite touching_ and the feel of his chest that was still rock-hard (albiet not _literally_) made it hard to focus. "But one day, I realized that I no longer wanted my cure just for me. I wanted it for you too."

He seemed like he would keep going, but Amelia would have none of it. She freed her hand and gently placed a finger over his lips. "Sir? I would very much... like to kiss you now."

But that didn't happen.

He kissed her instead.


	10. Discussions and Disguises

Some time later, Zelgadis had needed to go prepare for his trip. This left Amelia alone, but she didn't mind. Now that her Zelgadis wasn't here to be embarrassed it was time to celebrate out loud! And so she was. "Life is_GREAT!_ Life is _WONDERFUL!_" She bounded through the palace, almost hitting the ceiling with each jump.

Down the hall, Lina chose that inauspicious moment to round a corner. The same corner that had, until just moments before, hidden her from Amelia's view. Lost in thought as she was, Lina just barely noticed the approaching sound. "Miss Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiina!" Looking up, Lina had no time to dodge. Amelia tackle hugged the poor, unsuspecting bandit killer. The princess then grabbed Lina's face and turned it to face her. "I! Love! Zelgadis! Greywyrds!"

"Uh, that's great..."

"And He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!" At this point, Amelia was bouncing up and down in place, her red-headed friend helpless in her grip.

"Can't... breathe..." Fortunately for Lina, her troubles were about to be over. Amelia spotted someone else down the next hallway.

"Daddy!" And with that, the Crown Princess of Seyrune bounded off, leaving a very confused sorceress in her wake.

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Zelgadis once again found himself standing before a mirror. He had with him the widest assortment of clothing that Seyrune could offer. On his head rested his treasure, the Circlet of Animalia. In one moment, the face looking back at him out of the mirror was his own. In the next moment, he concentrated and his body shifted. Suddenly the face staring back was that of Prince Phil.

The heartless swordsman chuckled to himself before shifting back. He cycled through several of the courtiers and servants he'd seen, searching for the right look.

Then, out of the blue, a thought occurred to him. So far, all he'd used the Circlet to turn into were proper animals, and humans. But was that it's limit? After all, it let him turn into his chimerical form too. Steeling himself, Zelgadis focused his thoughts on something different... on a Mazoku.

At first, nothing happened. But the shaman could feel the Circlet... trying, for lack of a better word. _Maybe if I focus on a particular Mazoku..._ Unfortunately, there was really only one Mazoku that Zelgadis knew well - Xellos. Moments later, Zelgadis was both pleased and disappointed. Pleased, because the mirror now revealed a perfect likeness of the trickster priest. However, he was disappointed to find that he had only managed to take a human form that looked like Xellos.

Sighing, he shifted back into his human form. _So, I can look like any human..._ At that, yet another unbidden thought came to mind. _Surely... that would work too?_

Zelgadis was never one to let small things like embarrassment get in his way (at least when there wasn't anyone looking), so he concentrated once more on the power of his headgear. When he finished, sure enough, he was several inches shorter, with short purple-black hair and wide blue eyes. Amelia's face stared back at him. (Or was it her?) Sure enough, all the necessary... parts... seemed to be there.

"Hey Zel?" From the other side of his door came the voice of Gourry. Blushing, Zelgadis quickly resumed his proper gender.

"Come in, Gourry." The swordsman did so, looking strangely sheepish. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was just kinda wondering..."

It was at this moment that Lina came up to Zelgadis' door. She'd wanted to talk to Zel one more time about the coins they'd all been given before he had to leave. She was mildly surprised to her her bodyguard's voice coming from the Shaman's room, but what she found even more odd was what he said next.

"Can you show me where that Court place is so I can take Lina?"

Lina stopped short, unable to believe what she was hearing. _Why would Gourry want to sue me?_ Hey, no one ever said Lina didn't have her dumb moments too.

Zelgadis didn't catch on too quickly either. "What? Why would you want her anywhere near a courthouse?"

"Well, Amelia just seemed so happy when you said you'd take her... so while I'm really not sure what you do there, I thought maybe Lina would like to go."

_Wait, he wants to... WHAT?_ As Lina realized what the swordsman was saying, her face grew redder than her hair. She knew she should go in at this point, but something stopped her. She was surprised to realize that she really wanted to know if Gourry meant this...

"Um, Gourry? You do realize I wasn't talking about a courthouse?"

"Well, what did you mean then?"

"I meant... ugh..." Zelgadis paused, trying to find a way to put this so that his friend would actually understand. "It means Amelia and I are going to get married someday."

"Oh..." Three people passed a moment in silence. Lina couldn't see anything, and was desperately waiting for Gourry to say something. Zelgadis was, truth be told, a little embarrassed at having to explain this to his friend.

"... do you think Lina would like that?" The voice that came from Gourry's mouth was so small, so quiet, that Lina barely heard it.

"I... I honestly don't know, Gourry. Getting married is a huge thing, and..." Zelgadis sighed. "Unfortunately, I think that the only person who can answer that question is Lina." The Sorceress in question couldn't see the downcast look on Gourry's face, but Zelgadis could. "For what it's worth, though... I'd be happy to see you two married."

"Really?"

"Yup. And I promise I'll say nice things at your funeral if she says no." Only the laughter coming from both men in the room held Lina back from the murderous rampage she now wanted to go on.

_Idiots! It's not like I'd literally kill him... Just make it really painful... and who said I'd say no?_ Lina snapped out of her trance in an instant. _Did I just think that? _Of course, she had. Needing time to think on matters that suddenly seemed far more important than some stupid coin, she turned and ran away.

"Hey Zel, did you just hear something?"

"No. Of course, my hearing's nowhere near as good as it used to be."

"Huh."

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"You mean you and Mr. Gourry are leaving too?" Amelia stood by the small caravan that was preparing to leave for Sarn. As was apparent in her voice, she had not expected Lina and Gourry to be leaving Seyrune at the same time.

"Well, it's not like there's going to be anything going on around here, right?"

"Well, no... but..."

"Aw, come on Amelia! It's not like we'll be gone that long. Oh, that reminds me! If you don't invite us to the wedding, I'm gonna be pissed!"

Amelia blushed, and unnoticed in the background, so did Gourry.

"Well, we haven't really... talked about that yet."

"Bah! I know you haven't exactly set a date or anything, but we all know it's coming. Just the thought of all that food is so romantic!"

Gourry chose to change the subject. "Hey, where's Zel? I thought he was going on this trip?"

"I'm right here." Though the voice was unfamiliar, and the face was one none of them had seen before, both the attitude and the silver Circlet of Animalia revealed Zelgadis to those who knew him well.

"Zelgadis!" Exclaimed both the girls.

"Well, for now I'm Jonas Wylia, head servant to Seyrune's ambassador."

"Oh, do be careful my dearest!" Despite the unfamiliar body, Amelia gave Zelgadis an enormous hug.

"I will."

"Aw, Zelgadis! You aren't going as Miss Lulu?" Lina teased.

"I considered it, but I couldn't act feminine enough to pull it off. Lina?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you have any plans for the next few weeks?"

"Um, not really."

"In that case, can I ask you to look into the Lord of Riddles while I'm in Sarn?" Lina caught herself short; after last night she'd let that mystery completely slip her mind. "It occurred to me that the other remaining dark lords might be a good place to start, and you shouldn't have any trouble getting to see them."

"Is that safe, Lina?"

"Probably not, but Zel has a point. After all, no Mazoku can kill this beautiful sorcery genius!"

After saying all their respective goodbyes, Lina and Gourry found themselves walking out of town. A semi-comfortable silence had descended, as each of the pair was lost in thought. So it was that an old woman driving her wagon found them.

"Are you two kids headed west?"

Gourry spoke up first. "Yes ma'am, we sure are!"

"You fine young folks fancy a ride as far as the next town?"

Lina bowed, eager at the chance to get off her feet. "Much obliged, granny!"

Hopping in the cart, Lina looked over at her swordsman. _Just when did I start thinking of him as mine, anyway?_ After another mile or so, Lina decided that even if the idea of marriage was still kinda scary, that didn't mean she had to do nothing! So, she got up off the hay bale she was sitting on and deposited herself on Gourry's lap.

"Uh... what?" Gourry, for his part, was frantically trying to decide what reaction _wouldn't_ get him fireballed into oblivion.

"The hay's uncomfortable, Bait-for-brains." And with that the sorcery genius curled up against _her_ Gourry and settled in for a nap.

_Well, this isn't so bad... I just hope she doesn't overreact when she wakes up._ Minutes later, the swordsman was asleep too.


	11. Interrogation and Intruige

The Mazoku Referund looked at all the assembled villagers standing before him. As their "grand high druid" chanted further, the malicious entity stood among the ignorant fools, waiting for the right moment. As soon as their chanting opened the channel to his master, Referund would slaughter them all, sending their fear and sorrow to Deep Sea Dolphin.

Of course, the best laid plans never survive contact with the enemy. Not even an enemy you didn't know you had, and _especially_ not the Enemy of All Who Live.

So when the door to the town church shattered and Lina Inverse strode in like she owned the place, Referund immediately began recalculating.

"Okay, which one of you is the Mazoku?" As she gazed imperiously out at the assembled peons, Gourry stood behind her with sword at the ready. The villagers, for their part, looked confused and worried in equal measure.

Referund decided that it was time for a dramatic reveal. So, he shifted into his true, monstrous form, reveling in the panic around him. "So, the infamous Lina Inverse has come to stop me? Well, perhaps I should simply curry favor with my master by killi-UGH!" The Mazoku cut off his monologue with a sharp grunt as Lina kneed him unceremoniously in the junk. As Referund doubled over in pain, he heard the Sorcery Genius' voice from above him.

"Yeah, yeah. I really couldn't care less about all that. Look, little guy, we're just here for some information, and the sooner you give it to us, the sooner we leave!"

"So... you aren't here to foil my plans?"

"Are you even listening? Look, just tell me who the Lord of Riddles is and I might just let you live."

"Hah! Foolish human! I will never reve-GAHH!" This time, Referund's monologue was cut off by a hand (just one, mind you!) wrapping around his throat and choking him.

"Sorry, but I really don't have time to do this the easy way." Behind her, Gourry just shrugged at the Mazoku, almost looking apologetic. "If you don't know, just say so!"

Gourry sighed quietly to himself. This had been their pattern for the last few days... Ray Wing from town to town, looking for Mazoku to interrogate. None of them so far had known anything, and Gourry didn't know why Lina thought this small fry would be any different.

"Um... erk... okay... I don't... gasp... know... anything!" Referund gasped for air as he was released. "I don't think anyone does, not even his servants! But if you really want to ask them, I heard some of them were infiltrating the village of Gygax!"

At that, Lina's frown instantly became a smile. "Thanks!"

As she walked away Referund started to mutter to himself. "How can she be so strong? I mean, really, how does a short, unattractive, flat-chested li-" For the third and final time, Referund was cut off. This time it was out of fear, as he heard the most inhuman growl emanating from the throat of Lina Inverse.

"Rrrrr That's the _one thing_ you should never say! DRAGON SLAVE!" And Referund was no more. For that matter, neither was the church. Or the village it had stood in...

"Well, no sense dawdling about, eh Gourry? Off to Gygax!" Lina punctuated this declaration by pumping her fist into the air, but then she simply looked about in some confusion. "Hey, does anyone here know which way Gygax is?"

"It's southwest! Just please, leave our village in peace!"

"Okies! Bye bye!" And with that, Lina scooped Gourry up in both arms (_not _just dangling him by one arm, as her usual) and proceeded to fly southwest. Gourry couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was doing that, but she seemed in such a good mood that he figured the best bet was to just say nothing, and enjoy it.

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Zelgadis looked at the castle he was entering with a critical eye. On the surface, nothing seemed out of place... not that he had really expected it to. The delegation he was with was received without any fanfare, and they were in the process of being escorted to their chambers when another retinue came around a corner.

The man leading it matched the description of the King of Sarn to a t, and when the ambassador knelt Zelgadis had no more doubt. Rising, he watched as the ambassador began schmoozing the King. Zelgadis, for his part, started taking note of the faces around the King. After all, who knew where the source of this trouble truly was? His search was interrupted by the whiny voice of the ambassador.

"And this is my new assistant's assistant. He'll be assisting my assistant!" Zelgadis started to bow to King Bradley, but before he finished the King had already turned his head away, and called out to someone else rounding the corridor.

"Ah, there you are! Come, come, I wanted to introduce you to the William, ambassador sent from Seyrune!"

"Oh, of course! I'll be right there." Zelgadis stiffened, he'd know that voice anywhere. Looking up confirmed his worst fears - the figure walking toward them all now, with nobility in tow, was none other than Xellos.

William bowed. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your conversation, Lord Xellos."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I was just having a delightful conversation with the duke about how... _troublesome_ it is when unpleasant secrets get exposed." As he said this, his closed eyes just so happened to be pointed straight at Zelgadis.

Not truly understanding, William chose to treat the strange statement as a joke. "Of course, of course! Ha, very troublesome indeed! I look forward to working with you sir. It is my hope that a non-violent solution can be found."

Xellos' closed eyes never wavered from Zelgadis. "That would be best for certain people, wouldn't it?" His smile grew, and he pushed past William, walking right up to the heir-apparent to Seyrune. He leaned in, uncomfortably close, and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Do I know you?"

Frantically, Zelgadis tried to think of a way out of this situation. He _knew_ that Xellos knew who he was, so why hadn't he exposed him already? _Maybe he can't without ruining his plans... but if I ruin his plans there's no telling what he'd do..._ Finally, The sorcerer-swordsman decided that it would be best to not lie outright, so he opted for a half-truth. "I'm sure that I'd remember having met someone like you, sir."

Xellos leaned back, and his smile looked perhaps a touch less malicious than it had before. "How _true_, sir, how true! Please, none of this sir business! Call me Xellos! And what should I call you?"

Zelgadis started to give his assumed name, but caught himself just in time. _He phrased that very carefully... That's it! He's trying to trick me into lying!_ "Call me Jonas, sir. Jonas Wylia." Thankfully, King Bradley chose that moment to speak again.

"Now, I'm sure you all are tired from travel. Let us resume negotiations over dinner!"

Several hallways later, the emissaries from Seyrune were finally shown to their rooms.

As Zelgadis unpacked his things in his room, he pondered the dilemma facing him. Xellos' presence changed the nature of this mission entirely. _Either he's behind it, or he knows who is. Either way, this will be a tough nut to crack. There's no way I can fight the Trickster Priest openly, especially not after... In any case, he seemed happy that I was playing along for now. First things first, I need to discover if these people know _what_ he is, and second, I need to figure out what his game is._

Sighing to himself, Zelgadis went off to dinner.

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Hehehe... sorry about the delay in posting this. I've been a busy beaver! Among other things, I have become part of Systemic Insanity, a new gaming company! (Link is in my profile.) So I've been distracted. But I just watched most of Revolution, and of course that stoked my fire for Slayers! Hope you enjoyed this latest chappie, even if Amelia wasn't in it at all...


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